Leave NO ONE behind World Food Day 2022, Suurbraak, Swellendam municipality

by Vusumzi Zwelendaba (left) and Hennis Germishuys

GGlobally, World Food Day (WFD) is celebrated on 16 October to commemorate the day the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FOA) of the United Nations was founded back in 1945. The purpose of WFD is to raise awareness of the need for more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agri-food systems.

According to the FOA, there has been progress made towards building a better world, but too many people have been left behind. People who are unable to benefit from human development, innovation or economic growth.

Hence, this year’s theme is “Leave NO ONE Behind.”

World Food Day is one of the flagship events for the Western Cape Department of Agriculture (WCDoA) and does not just talk about it in theory, but celebrates in action. In the spirit of Leave NO ONE Behind, the Department continues to put in resources and efforts, and forge strategic partnerships to collectively tackle food insecurity challenges where it matters the most, which is on the community and household levels.

The WCDoA in partnership with the Swellendam Municipality and Casidra hosted the World Food Day event on 7 October 2022 at the Suurbraak Sports Complex.

Leading up to the event, regular planning and implementation meetings with a number of stakeholders were held.

Firstly, 260 households were profiled and approved. This was followed by training in vegetable production and chicken keeping. After the training, the production inputs were delivered and the implementation started. Thirteen food security initiatives were implemented, i.e. eight school food gardens and five community food garden projects. These projects were supported with infrastructure, tools, equipment, production inputs, training, etc. In addition to this, 30 food producers were trained in agri-processing at the Elsenburg AgriHub.

The aim was to benefit all the communities in the Swellendam municipal area and to focus on household, community and school food gardens.

The project included the towns and communities of Swellendam, Buffelsjagrivier, Rietkuil, Suurbraak, Barrydale and Malgas. Household, school and community gardens were implemented in each of the abovementioned areas.

In 2022, we surpassed all the previous years and supported 260 household food security initiatives. In addition to this, the Department supported six community food gardens, namely Mickey Mouse, October Food Garden, St Luke Church, Barrydale Community, Suurbraak Aquaponics and Xairu Agricultural Cooperative.

Furthermore, we augmented our efforts and implemented six primary school food gardens, namely Buffelsjag, Mullersrus, VRT Pitt, Bontebok, BF Oosthuizen and

As per tradition, the WCDoA continued to roll out the “Plant one tree, eat for free” drive as part of the food security initiative. Lemon and orange trees were planted at some households and community projects. In certain areas, the households were supported with indigenous trees.

Acknowledgements

With the support of our sponsors, such as the Department of Social Development, Breede Gouritz Catchment Management Area (BGCMA), an entity of the Department of Water and Sanitation, Southern Oil, Spar Swellendam, Rotary Club Swellendam, Sentraal-Suid Koöperasie, Shoprite Head Office in Brackenfell, Fruitways Packaging and AB InBev, the generosity of the staff members of both the WCDoA and Swellendam Municipality and proceeds from the Cycle Tour, we managed to mobilise donations towards a Food Mountain that was donated to three local NGOs/NPOs in the area, namely Mossienes Prep School, Trust Huis, and Vulindlela Msenge Crèche. Preference was given to organisations that focus on youth, women, children and people with disabilities.

During 2022’s celebrations, we initiated a cycle tour to raise funds that were donated to the Food Mountain. The tour started on 6 October at the Jakes Gerwel Technical School in Bonnievale and the Head of Department, Dr Mogale Sebopetsa, who was one of the cyclists taking part, donated seeds, seedlings and compost to the school for their vegetable garden. The cycle tour finished on the morning of the 7th in Suurbraak and kickstarted the event.

After a briefing session, Western Cape Minister of Agriculture Dr Ivan Meyer and selected guests visited the school garden at Suurbraak Primary School, a community garden, a household vegetable garden and a chicken project. Then he made his way to the Suurbraak Sports Complex where he was joined by hundreds of the local community members who gathered in a tent. During the formalities, Minister Meyer delivered a message of hope and encouraged partnerships to fight hunger together.

With one of our focus areas being children, we believe in planting the seed of food security in the minds of young people. In addition to the school gardens, we initiated a school competition with two primary schools in the area, namely Mullersrus and Suurbraak. The school leaners were encouraged to either create posters or write a poem relating to food security or make a design or model from recycled materials. The prizegiving ceremonies to announce the winners were held on 13 and 14 October at Mullersrus and Suurbraak Primary Schools respectively. Other organisations that were involved included the Western Cape Department of Education, Die Stigting vir Bemagtiging deur Afrikaans, Nalibali and Swellendam Echo Clubs. AP